Guinea pigs do not manufacture their own vitamin C so they need a food that has been enriched with the vitamin – they should never be fed rabbit pellets (which are low in vitamin C and too high in vitamin D)

Caging & Environment

Guinea pigs should be housed alone, unless spayed or neutered.

Caging should include a hide area, food bowl, water bottle, salt lick, and hay manger.

A hide area is extremely important to guinea pigs – they love to play hide and seek!

Bedding should be about 1” deep.

The cage should have a solid bottom (the same goes for exercise wheels).

The larger the cage, the better! Go for a cage that has a lot of surface area, rather than multiple levels.

Behavior/Handling

Guinea pigs rarely bite, but can nip if they feel threatened. Try hand-feeding treats as a start.

Always pick up a guinea pig by supporting its entire body. Squirming is normal at first, but make sure the entire body is supported – dropping a guinea pig can cause severe injury.

Guinea pigs are super vocal! They will grunt, squeal, and whistle to show excitement.

Guinea pigs can be litter trained. They will often choose a corner of the cage to eliminate in. Once you see this behavior, place a corner litter box in that spot and put some of the soiled bedding in the litter box. The guinea pig will continue to use that corner and clean up becomes a breeze!